The Shape of Further Things
Nov 2025 · Hachette UK
Ebook
352
Pages
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infoThis book will become available on November 20, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
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About this ebook
"We are infinitely rich, yet we mess about with penny-in-the-slot machines," writes Brian W. Aldiss in this autobiographical work written over the course of one month. From his Oxfordshire home, he ruminates on dreams, education, the role of technology in our lives, the rise and function of science fiction, and a variety of other topics. The Shape of Further Things is a window into the life and mind of a Science Fiction Grand Master.
In this provocative volume, Brian Aldiss seeks to recapture some of the strands of his life, using an elaborate tapestry to do so: using a basic diary form, he works alternately back into the past and forward into the future; the realities of our world alternate with the unrealities of fantasy.
The result is an autobiography spanning one month - a month in the life of a speculative writer. Dominant topics include the Moon as real estate, the role of technology, the growth of science fiction in Britain, the nature of dreams and theories of the brain, and the possible part that education could play in enriching our lives.
In this provocative volume, Brian Aldiss seeks to recapture some of the strands of his life, using an elaborate tapestry to do so: using a basic diary form, he works alternately back into the past and forward into the future; the realities of our world alternate with the unrealities of fantasy.
The result is an autobiography spanning one month - a month in the life of a speculative writer. Dominant topics include the Moon as real estate, the role of technology, the growth of science fiction in Britain, the nature of dreams and theories of the brain, and the possible part that education could play in enriching our lives.
About the author
2025 is the Centenary Year of Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss was born in 1925. He was a highly decorated science fiction author who achieved the rare feat of acceptance as a writer of real significance by the literary establishment in his lifetime. As well as his many award-winning novels he has been a hugely important anthologist and editor in the field. He also wrote the pre-eminent history of the genre (with David Wingrove), Trillion Year Spree. He died in 2017 the day after his 92nd birthday.
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